ParagonPetals

12/08/2026

🌸 𝐀𝐘𝐑 & 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐓 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 — 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈’𝐌 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆! 🌸

It’s nearly time! This Friday & Saturday I’ll be heading to Ayr Racecourse with Paragon Petals for the Ayr & District Flower Show — and I’m very excited to be part of it! 💐

The show runs Friday 14th & Saturday 15th August, 10am–5pm, with loads to see and do, including:

🌺 Competition classes
⛺ Craft tents
🛍️ Lots of shopping opportunities (including us of course!)
🪴 Garden stalls
🎶 Live musical entertainment
💐 Demonstrations
🍯 Open honey competitions
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 And plenty to keep the whole family entertained!

And of course, I’ll be taking to the stage for FREE flower arranging demonstrations! 🌸

📅 Friday 14th August — 2pm–3pm
📅 Saturday 15th August — 2pm–3pm

Head upstairs to the Princess Suite, where I’ll talk you through the flower arranging process, share some hints and tips, and hopefully inspire a few of you to have a go yourselves — whether you’re completely new to arranging or already flower-mad! 🌷

There will be limited seating, and you could even win one of the arrangements I make during the demonstrations! 👀💐

🎟️ Tickets are £7 at the gate
📍 Ayr Racecourse, KA8 0JE
⏰ 10am–5pm both days

So if you fancy a day surrounded by flowers, gardens, crafts, shopping, music and loads of things to see and do for all the family, come along and say hello!

I’ll be there both days, so keep an eye out for the Paragon Petals chaos… I mean, professional floral demonstrations. 😂🌸

👉 www.ayranddistrictflowershow.com

Come and see what all the flower fuss is about! 🌺

11/08/2026

💖 𝐔𝐧𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜. ✨

Well… that was one way to come back from holiday! 😂🌺

A wee quick video of some of the flowers that arrived yesterday and a few of the things we created with them.

I remembered to video some things… forgot others… remembered to take photos… forgot others 🤦🏼‍♀️😂 Basically, just trust me when I say there was A LOT going on!

Our first day back was all about the tropicals 🌴🌺

We went from full-on tropical vases, to mixes of tropicals and more traditional flowers, right through to a much more traditional hat box. A proper mix of styles, colours and textures — exactly how I like it!

Some of the flowers making an appearance were:

🌺 Kangaroo Paw
🌸 Lisianthus ‘Terracotta’
🌴 Heliconia
🌼 Leucospermum ‘Tango’
❤️ Gloriosa
🌺 Alstroemeria ‘Bali’
🌿 Limonium ‘Safari’
🌸 Germini Spider ‘Humba’

I’m absolutely loving these colours and, honestly, getting to play with some of the more unusual flowers is one of my favourite parts of the job.

Because why be boring when you can have Heliconia, Gloriosa and Kangaroo Paw in your vase?! 😂🌴

So that’s us… first day back and straight into the flowers. No easing ourselves in gently here! 💐💪🏻

10/08/2026

Look at the size of them apples!! 🍎😂

After last year when I only had 2 tiny little apples that promptly fell off, to now having 9 of them, all nearly this size… I’m well impressed! 🙌🏻🍎

Now the big question is… what on earth do I do with them?! 🤔😂

And more importantly, will I even have time to make anything with them before they’re ruined?! 😂😂

Apple crumble? Apple pie? Chutney? Something a bit more adventurous?

Answers on a postcard… because apparently I now need an apple plan! 🍎😂

10/08/2026

𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬! 💐

It’s Monday and I’m back with the ramblings… sorry, I mean important updates! 😂😂

It’s a very busy week this week, on top of all the usual stuff, because I’m prepping for TWO double-day events this weekend! 😳

🌸 Friday & Saturday I’ll be at the Ayr & District Flower Show at Ayr Racecourse, where I’ll be selling and doing demonstrations.

⚓ Saturday & Sunday we’ll also be at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine.

So it’s another divide and conquer weekend for Team Paragon! 😂 My poor Craig practically gets eye strain from rolling his eyes every time I tell him we’re double booked! 🤣

More details on both events will be coming your way over the next few days, so keep your eyes peeled.

For now, I’m off to sort today’s deliveries and get stuck into the mountain of things that need done!

And I have to say… it’s good to be back in the cabin creating flowers for you all. 🌸💐

Right, better get cracking! 💪🏻

09/08/2026

So we’re back out today at the Strathaven Monthly Market! 🌸

It may be a wee bit drizzly, but don’t let that put you off… we didn’t! 😂☔️

We’re here and ready to say hi, along with loads of other fantastic local traders. So why not make a morning of it?

☕️ Grab yourself a cuppa
🍕 Treat yourself to a wee Italian delight from Itali-Iain’s Pizza
🛍️ Have a browse around all the brilliant stalls
🌸 And, of course, come and say hello to us!

There are some amazing traders here today, and we’re delighted to be part of it.

So grab your brolly, pop on a jacket and come and have a wander — a little rain never stopped us! 💪🏻😂

See you at the market! 🌸

08/08/2026

08/08/2026

🎉𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬… 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤! 😂🏆🌸

So, before I properly get back to work, I thought I’d share a little bit of news… 🥰🌸

Some time ago I was contacted by SME News, who run an annual awards programme celebrating small and medium-sized businesses across the UK.

And, for a change, an awards programme that didn’t cost anything to enter and didn’t involve voting! 😂🙌🏻

No popularity contest.
No counting likes.
No asking everyone you know to click a link 47 times. 😂

I simply provided some basic information about Paragon Petals and our links, and they carried out their own research and investigation into the business and what we do.

After a few weeks of waiting, I’m absolutely delighted to say that Paragon Petals has been awarded 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐲𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔! 🏆🌸

Now, genuinely, the biggest reward for me is having a successful business, creating things I’m proud of and, most importantly, having customers who come back time and time again because they love what I do. ❤️

That’s what makes all the long hours, hard work, early mornings, weekends and everything in between worthwhile.

But… it is rather nice to have that work recognised too. Especially when it’s something awarded on merit and hard work rather than bank balance, popularity or social media clicks.

So thank you to SME News. Most of you probably won’t have heard of them, but they have a pretty significant sphere of influence within their sector, and it’s lovely to have Paragon Petals recognised among their winners.

I’ll share the link to our little page alongside all the other businesses featured in their Winners Hall of Fame.

And no, this isn’t what I do this job for and it never will be.

But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t very, very nice to have a little bit of recognition for everything we’ve built. 🥰

It also gives new customers that extra bit of confidence when choosing us, and that can only be a good thing.

So there we go… Best New Floristry Business in Ayrshire 2026. 🌸🏆

Not bad for a wee florist from Darvel. 😉

https://smenews.digital/winners/paragon-petals/

06/08/2026

🪴𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞: 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝… 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟!

Well, seeing as we’re on holiday and not disappearing off anywhere exotic, it would have been rude not to make the most of what’s right on our doorstep and head to the Clyde Valley garden centres! 🌿🌸

A few new plants may have accidentally found their way home with me (completely unavoidable, obviously! 😂), and I even spotted the first Christmas displays starting to appear in Silverbirch.

Retail really is a strange world—while the rest of us are enjoying summer, they’re already planning for winter!

Naturally, I couldn’t leave without taking plenty of photos of all the beautiful plants and flowers on display. There was colour everywhere you looked, and if there’s one thing guaranteed to make me happy, it’s a good garden centre wander filled with gorgeous blooms.

Enjoy today’s wee photo dump! Truth be told, if I had the space (and the bank balance!), I would happily have brought every single plant home with me! 🌿😂

03/08/2026

🏰 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 💐

Day out at the stunning Stirling Castle! It’s Craig’s favourite castle, and it’s easy to see why. From the gorgeous views and incredible history to the amazing craftsmanship around every corner, there’s so much to take in.

Of course, it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t manage to find the flowery bit! 🌸

These photos are from the long-established flower beds in the Queen Anne Gardens, tucked away within the castle walls. Even at this time of year, they’re still bursting with colour and interest. See if you can spot the thistles too — they are absolutely massive! 🌿

Anyway, enjoy today’s wee photo dump of beautiful blooms and a little bit of Scottish history. 😁

02/08/2026

🫟 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 ‘𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟’ 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬!🖌️

I did say we were on holiday, right? I definitely mentioned that?!! 😂

So, what do we do on our very first day off? Paint the cabin, of course! 🎨😂

Just another job from the never-ending list that comes with running a business. The glamorous side of being a family-run company isn’t always what people imagine — sometimes it’s swapping the flowers for paintbrushes! 😂

At least that’s another job ticked off the list, and once the canopy is finished, that’ll be getting a fresh coat too. 💪🏻💪🏻

Who needs a relaxing holiday anyway? ☀️😂